“We need to make sure Missouri doesn’t become a police state as the technology becomes more prevalent and the costs become cheaper,” Guernsey told Missouri Watchdog.

Rumors abounded last June that the Environmental Protection Agency was dispatching drones from Kansas City, Kan., to investigate whether cow manure was fouling water supplies in Midwestern states, including the largely agricultural area in northwest Missouri represented by Guernsey.

Then U.S. Rep. Todd Akin wrote a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson with concerns about the practice. It turned out the agency was flying small piloted planes in Iowa and Nebraska but not in Missouri.

“As drones become less expensive, our fear is that police and other agencies could use them for fishing expeditions that infringe on an individual’s right to privacy, said Gary Brunk, local executive director for the ACLU. “This bill is simply common-sense regulation.”

Capt. Tim Hull, spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, told Watchdog on Wednesday that the department didn’t

GUERNSEY: Without legislation, Missouri could become a “police state” with overt surveillance as drone technology becomes cheaper.

have any comment on Guernsey’s pending legislation.

“We’ll enforce whatever laws are passed,” Hull said.

He said the highway patrol doesn’t use drones, and he wasn’t aware of any plans to use them in the future.

Guernsey said his legislation, which he dubs the Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act, is a preventative measure to keep Missouri government agencies from implementing the technology.

“I’m not aware of any state agency now using drones, which I think makes it the perfect time to act on this,” he said.

Guernsey’s bill also places penalties on illegal drone usage. Any information obtained with them in violation of the act would be inadmissible in court, and victims could bring a civil suit against the person or agency that operated the drone over their property.

In most cases, law enforcement agencies would have to fly drones over private property to reach the particular area being surveyed. Watchdog asked Guernsey if he’s worried that could be a sticking point in the law.

“If it’s so important they need to use [drones] a warrant would cover them,” he said.

Johnny Kampis is a content editor and staff writer at Watchdog.org. Johnny previously worked in the newspaper industry and as a freelance writer, and has been published in The New York Times, Time.com, FoxNews.com and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A former semi-professional poker player, Kampis is writing a book documenting the poker scene at the 2016 World Series of Poker, a decade after the peak of the poker boom. You can follow him on Twitter @TuscaloosaJohn or reach him via email at [email protected]

Another politician aiming at low hanging fruit. As a proponent of civil UAV use for agriculture and environment I am dismayed at the spate of anti UAV legislation. Missouri with its history of pioneering aviation and St Louis dependance on aviation industry just sent a message that is not a progressive State. The average Missourian has more to fear from their mobile phones and careless postings on Facebook than police use of UAV technology.